Welcome to the website
of the IWM International Conference 2026
Engaging Synodality.
Intercultural Perspectives
for Re-Imagining Pastoral Possibilities.
“Synodalization” is clearly the most important ecclesiological, pastoral and theological challenge facing the Catholic Church at the beginning of the third millennium (Francis, 2015). As part of the recent synodal processes worldwide, the Church has not only had to grapple with the question of what is meant by synodality, but also how to shape a missionary-synodal church. The importance of these questions has made them become the focus of fruitful literature and of the plenary Assemblies of the World Synod held in October 2023 and 2024.
Within theology, the topic of “synodality” has primarily been discussed from the perspectives of ecclesiology, fundamental theology, and canon law. These discussions mainly examine systematic-theological, institutional, ministry-related, and legal questions. Nevertheless, synodality still needs a deeper and specific reflection from the perspective of pastoral and intercultural theology.
Topics such as:
- reflections on ‘lived synodality’: Church culture, organizational change, needed competencies, new procedures and structures,
- a synodal church in the context of different cultures, states and regions,
- synodality from an empirical perspective: What forms of synodality are there worldwide?,
- specific topics and experiences on synodality and interculturality (e.g., multilingual communities or ‘digital spaces’),
are still needed for further discussion.
Considering this diagnosis and to offer an open and dialogical (= synodal) platform for complementary reflections on synodality from these two specific theological disciplines, this conference – organized by the Institute for Global Church and Mission (IWM) at Sankt Georgen Graduate School (Frankfurt am Main), the Chair of Pastoral Theology at the University of Würzburg (JMU) and the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) – aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions on synodality from distinctly pastoral-theological and intercultural-theological perspectives.
Start: Wednesday, July 1, 2026, 1.00 pm
End: Friday, July 3, 2026, 1.00 pm
Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology
Offenbacher Landstrasse 224
60599 Frankfurt am Main/Germany
Workshops: English and German
All persons interested in intercultural perspectives on synodality and its implications for pastoral theology and praxis (academics, students, and pastoral agents/workers)
Prof. Fr. Dr. Dr. Markus Luber SJ – Dr. Catalina Cerda-Planas (Institute for Global Church and Mission – IWM)
Prof. Dr. Johannes Först – PD Dr. Peter Frühmorgen (Chair of Pastoral Theology, University of Würzburg – JMU)
Prof. Dr. Ikenna Okpaleke – Prof. Dr. Nora Nonterah (Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network – PACTPAN)
Dr. Catalina Cerda-Planas (Chile-Germany) is an Associated Researcher at the Institute for Global Church and Mission of the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology and at the Chair of Pastoral Theology of the University of Würzburg, both in Germany. Her current post-doctoral research is dedicated to identifying the required competencies to build a synodal-missionary local Church. She has been part of several projects on Synodality in Germany and in Latin America.
Prof. Dr. Klara A. Csiszar (Romania-Austria) is Professor of Pastoral Theology, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, and Vice-rector for Teaching and Research at the Catholic Private University of Linz, Austria. She participated as a theological expert in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and is a world-renowned expert on Synodality. She recently inaugurated a Research Department dedicated to the topic in her Faculty in Linz.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Först (Germany) is Professor of Pastoral Theology and Homiletics at Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg. His academic interests include structural change within the Catholic Church and the analysis of new leadership models in pastoral areas.
PD Dr. Peter Frühmorgen (Germany) is a Research Assistant at the Chair of Pastoral Theology and Homiletics at Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg. His research focuses on parish pastoral care and Christian social forms, the church as an organization, occasional and sacramental pastoral care, practical theory, and practical theology, among others.
Prof. Dr. Fr. Stan Chu Ilo (Nigeria-USA) is Professor at the Catholic Studies Faculty of DePaul University in Chicago, USA. His areas of expertise include African Christianity, cross-cultural studies, African intellectual and political history, African Catholicism and the World Church, equity and diversity in faith-based education and ministry, Religion and Social Transformation, and Religion and Violence.
Prof. Dr. Katharina Karl (Germany) holds the Chair of Pastoral Theology and is Dean of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Her work focuses on forms of discipleship and Christian lifestyles in the present day, biography-sensitive and empirical methods within pastoral theology, intercultural pastoral care, and communication of faith. She is currently conducting a study in cooperation with Markus Dumberger to evaluate the German Synodal Way from the perspective of its members.
Prof. Dr. Christina Kheng (Singapore) teaches at the East Asian Pastoral Institute and is a planning consultant with the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary methods for church-society dialogue. She has been a member of the Methodology Commission in the Secretariat of the Synod since early 2021 and was also part of the global team that prepared the Document for the Continental Stage in September 2022. She was one of the non-voting experts (facilitator) for the October 2023 and 2024 sessions of the Synod assembly.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Markus Luber SJ (Germany) is Professor of Intercultural Theology and Director of the Institute for Global Church and Mission at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His research focuses are: Contextual Theology and Inculturation, Hinduism, Secularization, Religious Studies (methodology), Sociology of Religion (empirical-qualitative research), Religion and Culture.
JProf. Dr. Jean Olivier Nke Ongono (Cameroon-Germany) is Professor for Global Church Leadership at the Institute of Global Church Leadership of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, Germany. He specializes in canon law and Church administration.
Prof. Dr. Nora Nonterah (Ghana) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religion and Human Development, FoSS, CoHSS, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Her research interests include peace-building, interreligious dialogue, gender, safeguarding of minors, interreligious dialogue/relations/education, and social ethics. She serves as the coordinator of Regional and International Networking (Partners/ Events) – CTEWC Africa Chapter. She is also an expert and steering committee member of the Pan African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN).
Prof. Dr. Ikenna U. Okafor (Nigeria-Austria) is a research professor of Intercultural Theology at the University of Vienna. Born in Azigbo, Anambra State, Nigeria, his work focuses on intercultural theology, interreligious relations, fraternity, and African interdisciplinary theology. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Pan African Theology and Pastoral Studies Series (PATPASS) and Publisher of African Catholic Press (AfriCaP), promoting African theological scholarship globally.
Prof. Dr. Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke (Nigeria-Belgium) currently works at the Research unit for Systematic Theology, University of Leuven. Ikenna does research in Systematic theology, specifically in the area of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. He also has interests in international relations, social psychology, and educational studies. As Nora, he is also a member of the Pan African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN).
Dr. Estela Padilla (Philippines) serves as the Executive Secretary of the Office of Theological Concerns at the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and is a consultant for the CBCP’s Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities. She’s currently studying a combined MA and Ph.D. in Change Management Theory, coming from and leading to a Synodal Church. She was one of the 70 non-bishops appointed to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
Prof. Dr. Ernesto Palafox (Mexico) is a professor at the Pontificia Universidad de México and coordinator of the Pastoral Theology Department at the same university. He is also a visiting professor at The School of Theology and Ministry of Boston College in the USA and at CEBITEPAL-CELAM, in Bogotá (Colombia).
JProf. Dr. Bernhard Spielberg (Germany) is Professor for Pastoral Theology at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His research foci are social transformations in today’s society, transformations of religion around the globe, and organizational transformations of the Catholic Church. Among other duties, he is dedicated to consulting processes of pastoral development, teaching, preaching, and the formation of (lay and ordained) pastors.
Prof. Dr. Francesco Zaccaria (Italy) is a Lecturer of Practical Theology at the Apulian Theological Faculty. His areas of specialization are empirical-theological research, popular religion, human rights, and, more recently, synodality, with special focus on decision-making processes.
For this year’s conference, two registration options will be available:
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Option 1 – €125: Includes conference registration, coffee breaks, and a Conference Dinner on Thursday evening.
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Option 2 – €160: Includes all items in Option 1, plus Wednesday dinner and Thursday lunch.
Frankfurt/Main is a trade fair city and prices for accommodation within Frankfurt can therefore vary greatly.
The “Frankfurt-Mühlberg” S-Bahn station provides Sankt Georgen with good connections to the S-Bahn network in the region, which offers the possibility of staying in the Frankfurt area and traveling to the conference venue by public transport.
We recommend using a search engine for accommodation, such as Booking, Check24, Trivago, etc., to find suitable accommodation.
From the main train station to Sankt Georgen:
- Take tram line 16 (towards “Offenbach / Stadtgrenze”) to the ‘Balduinstraße’ stop.
- Take the S-Bahn S 1 (towards “Rödermark-Ober-Roden”), S 2 (towards “Dietzenbach”), S 8 or S 9 (towards “Offenbach Ost,” ‘Hanau’) to the station “Frankfurt-Mühlberg” (9 minutes), then change to tram line 15 or 16 (towards “Offenbach / Stadtgrenze”) to the stop “Balduinstraße”
From Frankfurt Süd station to Sankt Georgen:
- Take tram line 15 or 16 (towards “Offenbach / Stadtgrenze”) to the “Balduinstraße” stop
From the airport to Sankt Georgen:
- Take the S-Bahn S 8 or S 9 towards “Offenbach” or ‘Hanau’ to the “Frankfurt-Mühlberg” station, then change to tram line 15 or 16 (towards “Offenbach / Stadtgrenze”) and get off at the “Balduinstraße” stop.
IWM Sekretariat
Offenbacher Landstraße 224
60599 Frankfurt am Main
Telefon: +49 69 6061-710
E-Mail: sekr@iwm.sankt-georgen.de
Research Associate
Offenbacher Landstraße 224
60599 Frankfurt am Main
Raum: L (Lindenbau)
Telefon: +49 69 6061-703
Registration opens on November 15, 2025